San Francesco is a Romanesque-

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

style,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church and

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery located on Via San Francesco d'Assisi in central

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

, region of

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, Italy.

History

The Franciscan order arrived in Brescia around 1220, after a visit to the city by the

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

himself. Construction of the structures began around 1254 and continued for over a century. The cloister of the adjacent Convent, designed by Guglielmo da Frisone, was completed in 1394. In the 14th century, it is likely the entire walls and ceilings were frescoed, but the creation of chapels and other restorations covered much of this work except for traces behind the 2nd and third altars. The ''Crucifixion'' fresco in the 2nd chapel on the left dates to 1310-1320. On the right, the chapel dedicated to St Jerome has decorative sculpture (1506) by

Gasparo da Coirano Gaspare (also ''Gaspero'', ''Gasperino'' and ''Gasparro'') is an Italian male given name, the literal translation of the English name Casper and Jasper (French Gaspard, Scandinavian Kasper and Jesper). The name is rare in contemporary times, bu ...

. Other internal decoration was by Ottavio Viviani, Pietro Ricchi (il Lucchese), and Gian Giacomo Barbello. The Franciscan order's residence in the monastery was suppressed during Napoleonic rule, only for them to return later in the 19th century. The structure still houses monks from the order. Among the interior paintings, one finds:Itinerari Brescia entry on church. *''Saints Margaret of Antioch, Jerome, and Francis'' (1530), 1st altar on left, by

Moretto da Brescia Alessandro Bonvicino (also Buonvicino) (possibly 22 December 1554), more commonly known as Moretto, or in Italian Il Moretto da Brescia (the Moor of Brescia), was an Italian Renaissance painter from Brescia, where he also mostly worked. His da ...

*''Descent of Holy Spirit'' (1520), 4th altar on left, by

Il Romanino Girolamo Romani, known as Romanino ( – ), was an Italian Renaissance, Italian High Renaissance painter active in the Veneto and Lombardy, near Brescia. His long career brought forth several different styles. Biography Romani was born in Bre ...

* ''Madonna and child with Saints Francis, Anthony of Padua, Bonaventure, Louis of Tolouse, and Bernard'' (1516-1517), main altarpiece, also by Romanino *''Christ and Evangelists'', lunettes of presbytery, also by Romanino *''Esther and Assuerus'' and ''Judith and Holofernes''(1737), 16th-century Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, by Giovani Battista Sassi with quadrature by Giacomo Lecchi *Main altarpiece (1603) by Grazio Cossali

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Brescia Roman Catholic churches in Brescia Monasteries in Lombardy Gothic architecture in Brescia Romanesque architecture in Brescia Franciscan monasteries in Italy 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy