San Francesco is a Romanesque and 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 located at Piazza San Francesco in

Pescia Pescia () is an Italian city in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located in a central zone between the cities Lucca and Florence, on the banks of the river of the same name. History Archaeological excavations have suggest ...

, region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, Italy.

History

Tradition holds that in 1211, St Francis, stayed three days in the house of Venanzio Orlandi which was located on the via dei Forni. Orlandi prior to the century, in turn built an oratory at the site where the tribune of this church stands. Construction of the church began circa 1295 and continued for decades. The oratory was enlarged into a church with an adjacent convent, and prominent families of the town added their chapels over the years. The church and convent were suppressed in 1810. The church was restored in 1911 to 1930. In 1328, representatives of the

Guelf The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centurie ...

communities of the Valdinievole and Florentine Valeriana, joined in a league to oppose the

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centu ...

city of

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

. This league would lead to the annexation of the territory in 1339 to

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. questo territorio al dominio di Firenze (1339).

Interior

The church has a single nave with a number of altarpieces including one by

Alessandro Bardelli Alessandro Bardelli (1583–1633) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was born in Uzzano near Pescia. He trained with the cavalier Francesco Currado and worked along Ludovico Cardi. Painted mainly in Pescia, including a fresco in ...

. In the chapel of the ''Misericordia'' is a 15th-century wooden sculptural group of the ''Virgin and Child''. In 1506, the icon is said to have performed miracles, leading to the foundation of the ''Confraternity'' or ''Compagnia di Misericordia'' associated with the church of

Santi Stefano e Niccolao Santi Stefano e Niccolao or Stefano e Nicolò is a Roman Catholic church located in Pescia, region of Tuscany, Italy. History A church at the site dates from about the 11th century, but construction of the church continued until the 1300s. The sc ...

in Pescia. To the right of the main altar is the chapel of St Charles Borromeo with a canvas by Rodomonte di Pasquino Pieri, a pupil of

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

. The Nucci chapel has frescoes dated to the 1430s attributed to

Bicci di Lorenzo Bicci di Lorenzo (1373–1452) was an Italian painter and sculptor, active in Florence. He was born in Florence in 1373, the son of the painter, Lorenzo di Bicci, whose workshop he joined. He married in 1418, and in 1424 was registered in th ...

. The upper register depicts the ''Transit of the Virgin''. An inventory of works from 1896, cites that in the first altar on the right was a depiction of a crucifixion attributed to

Agnolo Gaddi Agnolo Gaddi (c.1350–1396) was an Italian painter. He was born and died in Florence, and was the son of the painter Taddeo Gaddi, who was himself the major pupil of the Florentine master Giotto. Agnolo was a painter and mosaicist, traine ...

. In the third altar to the right was

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...

painting on wood with an early portrait of ''St Francis'' surrounded by a series of scenes depicting his miracles (1235) by Bonaventura Berlinghieri. The altarpiece was completed only about a decade after the saint's death, but the painting has a stylized

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

simplicity with gilded background. The painting was restored many times. In the next chapel, inside the presbytery, was a depiction of the ''Martyrdom of St Bartholemew'' by Giovanni Imbert. Another canvas is by

Domenico Passignano Domenico Passignano (1559 – 17 May 1638), born Domenico Cresti or Crespi, was an Italian painter of a late-Renaissance or Counter-''Maniera'' ( Counter-Mannerism) style that emerged in Florence towards the end of the 16th century. Biography ...

. The other chapel has a 15th-century triptych depicting the ''Madonna and Child with Saints Anne, Simon, Thaddeus, Lawrence, and Dominic''., some sources attributed the painting to

Spinello Aretino Spinello Aretino (c. 1350 – c. 1410) was an Italian Painting, painter from Arezzo, who was active in Tuscany at the end of the 14th and the first decade of the 15th century.Giovanni Martinelli Giovanni Martinelli (22 October 1885 – 2 February 1969) was an Italian operatic spinto tenor. He was associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well. Martinelli wa ...

; the other is ''St Antony resurrects a deceased man'', a copy of a work by

Lorenzo Pasinelli Lorenzo Pasinelli (September 4, 1629 – March 4, 1700) was an Italian painter active mainly in Bologna during the late Baroque period. He was born in Bologna, and initially trained in the studio of Simone Cantarini. He then pursued studies in R ...

found in the church of

San Francesco, Bologna The Basilica of Saint Francis () is a historic church in the city of Bologna in northern Italy. Founded in the 13th century, it has been the property of the Conventual Franciscan friars since then. The church has been raised to the rank of a minor ...

. The next chapel was built for the Barba family, by Pompeo Barba, a scholar and doctor, who commissioned a ''Martyrdom of St Dorothea'' (1595) by

Jacopo Ligozzi Jacopo Ligozzi (1547–1627) was an Italian painter, illustrator, designer, and miniaturist. His art can be categorized as late-Renaissance and Mannerism, Mannerist styles. Biography Born in Verona, he was the son of the artist Giovanni Erma ...

. A painting of a ''Dead Christ'' has also been attributed to Ligozzi. The chapel also has tombs of the Obizzi family. One wall tomb near the altar of St Dorothea, has the remains of Giovanni degli Obizi, with an engraving of a warrior and dragon. The ceiling has 14th-century frescoes attributed to

Antonio Vite Antonio Vite was a fourteenth century Italian painter of the early 15th century. He was a pupil of Gherardo Starnina, and was born at Pistoia. He was active around the year 1428, and was perhaps identical with one ''Antonio Filippo da Pistoia'', ...

In the apse, the Cardini (or Orlandi-Cardini) chapel is entered through an elegant arch flanked by columns, all in

pietra serena ''Pietra serena'' is a blue-gray sandstone used extensively in Italian Renaissance, 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 a ...

; it was designed by

Andrea Cavalcanti ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844 ...

, a pupil of

Brunelleschi Filippo di ser Brunellesco di Lippo Lapi (1377 – 15 April 1446), commonly known as Filippo Brunelleschi ( ; ) and also nicknamed Pippo by Leon Battista Alberti, was an Italian architect, designer, goldsmith and sculptor. He is considered to ...

, and built in 1451-1458. That chapel houses a venerated 15th century stucco crucifix, called the ''Crocefisso della Corda Pia'', which is said to have been involved in miracles. This chapel was found to have

quattrocento The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encom ...

-period frescoes, attributed to

Neri di Bicci Neri di Bicci (1419–1491) was an Italian painter active in his native Florence. A prolific painter of mainly religious themes, he studied under his father, Bicci di Lorenzo, who had in turn studied under his father, Lorenzo di Bicci. The three ...

, depicting the brothers Cardini in prayer with the patrons of the town and valley. In the wall of the sacristy is a fresco depicting the ''Crucifixion'', attributed to

Puccio Capanna Puccio Capanna was an Italian painter of the first half of the 14th century, who lived and worked in Assisi, Umbria, Italy between 1341 and 1347. He is also called ''Puccio Campana''. Capanna was originally a Florentine. Vasari described him as ...

. The church bell-tower (1718-1719) was designed by

Carlo Antonio Arrighi Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

.La patria; geografia dell' Italia
part. 2. Provincia di Massa e Carrara, Luca, Pisa, Livorno, by Gustavo Strafforello (1896); page 107-108.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Pescia 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Pescia Churches in the province of Pistoia

Francesco Francesco, the Italian language, Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis (given name), Francis", is one of the List of most popular given names, most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name inclu ...