San Francesco is a

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 on Piazza Cavalli #68 in

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It was built in a style described as Lombard

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 ( ...

and is centrally located facing towards the Piazza del Cavalli, which is surrounded by the Palazzo Gotico and the

Palazzo del Governatore A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

History

The church and adjacent monastery were built for the

Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the t ...

, a member of the

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 ...

order, between 1278 and 1363 under the patronage of 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 ...

Umbertino Landi, who donated the land. It soon became a convent for nuns of the Clarissan order. From this church in 1547, Count Agostino Landi addressed the assembled people to announce that he and other nobles had murdered

Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma Pier Luigi Farnese (19 November 1503 – 10 September 1547) was the first Duke of Castro from 1537 to 1545 and the first Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1545 to 1547. He was the illegitimate son of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (who later became ...

. During the Napoleonic period despite a brief conversion of parts of the complex into armory and then a hospital, the church remained open. For a time it was dedicated to the early Christian martyr, St Napoleon. The church was returned to the clerics, but by 1810, they had left the convent. In 1848, the annexation of Piacenza to the Kingdom of Sardinia was proclaimed from this church. The layout of this church resembles the plan of the basilica of San Francesco in Bologna, including the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

with radiating chapels. The façade is made with simple brick with two thin buttresses flanking the central portal and a rose window. Lateral to the rose window are two round oculi. On the sides are two buttresses terminating in spires and pinnacles. The central portico has a rounded marble Romanesque arch with recessed thin columns, and sculptural relief in the lunette depicting ''St Francis receives Stigmata'' (1480). This facade and the piazza in front were refurbished to accentuate the initial gothic edifice during a refurbishment started in 1879, continued in 1819 by Camillo Guidotti, but not completed until after 1931 with renewed input by 1931 the architect Ettore Martini (1870–1960). In front of the facade is a Monument to

Gian Domenico Romagnosi Gian Domenico Romagnosi (; 11 December 1761 – 8 June 1835) was an Italian philosopher, economist and jurist. Biography Gian Domenico Romagnosi was born in Salsomaggiore Terme. He studied law at the University of Parma from 1782 to 1786. ...

(1761 – 1835). The interior of the church was amply decorated with frescoes and icons.The church contains frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries. The dome of the ''Chapel of the Immaculate Conception'' was decorated with frescoes (1597) by

Giovanni Battista Trotti Giovanni Battista Trotti (1555 – 11 June 1612) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period, active mainly in Piacenza, Parma, and his native city of Cremona. In Cremona, he was initially a pupil of Bernardino Campi, whose niece h ...

(known as Il Malosso) . The second altarpieces on the right depict an ''Annunciation'' and ''Birth of Mary'' also painted by GB Trotti. The altarpiece depicting ''San Filippo Bennizi'' was painted by the studio of

Carlo Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (18 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian Baroque painter and Drawing, draughtsman, active principallly in Rome where he was the leading painter in the second half of the 17th century. He was a fresco and canvas painte ...

. An altarpiece depicting ''San Pellegrino Laziosi'' was painted by Clemente Ruta. Above the entrance to the Sacristy is a depiction of ''St Eligius Bishop'' by

Camillo Procaccini 300px, ''Nativity'' by Camillo Procaccini Camillo Procaccini (3 March 1561 at Parma – 21 August 1629) was an Italian painter. He has been posthumously referred to as the ''Vasari of Lombardy'', for his prolific Mannerist fresco decoration. Bo ...

. In the sacristy is a depiction of ''San Liborio'' by

Carlo Sacchi Carlo Sacchi (1617–1706) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was born in Pavia and trained with a painter Carlo Antonio Rossi in Milan,Filippo De Boni, ''Biografia degli artisti: Volume unico'', Venezia 1840 then traveled to Rome ...

. In the chapel of St Francis is a depiction of the ''Descent of the Holy Spirit'' painted by Giuseppe, the brother of CF Nuvoloni, and originally found at the former church of Santo Spirito. In another chapel is an altarpiece depicting the ''Virgin, St Peter, and St John the Baptist'' by

Francesco Francia __NOTOC__ Francesco Francia, whose real name was Francesco Raibolini (1447 – 5 January 1517) was an Italian painter, goldsmith, and medallist from Bologna, who was also director of the city mint.Levinson:492 He may have trained with Marco Zop ...

. In the church is a funeral monument to the lawyer Barnaba del Pozzo, who once owned the present Palazzo Suzani. This lawyer collected the body of the slain Duke Pierluigi Farnese, and arranged its burial. Del Pozzo was knighted by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

. The church also has altarpieces by Bernardo Castelli, Bartolomeo Schedone,

Carlo Francesco Nuvolone Carlo Francesco Nuvolone (1608 or 1609 in Milan – 1661 or 1662 in Milan)Bernardino Gatti Bernardino Gatti (c.1495 – 22 February 1576) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly in Parma and Cremona. He is also commonly called il Sojaro. He was born in or near Pavia or Cremona. His early apprenticeship is unclear, ...

. Giuseppe Sacchini is buried in the church.La patria; geografia dell'Italia: Provincia di Parma e Piacenza
by Gustavo Chiesi, Torino, 1902, page 172.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco, Piacenza Buildings and structures completed in 1363 Churches completed in the 1360s Roman Catholic churches in Piacenza Gothic architecture in Emilia-Romagna 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Christian monasteries established in the 13th century Francesco Piacenza