San Francesco is a 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 Monastery located in the Piazza of the same name in Sansepolcro,

province of Arezzo The province of Arezzo () is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Arezzo. The province is bordered by the regions of Marche, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, and the provinces Siena and Florence of Tuscany. It has an area ...

, 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

These structures, including the bell-tower, were begun in 1258 under the patronage of the Franciscan friar Tommaso da Spello, and underwent reconstruction in the 18th century with stucco decorations. It still contains an altar from 1304. The Convent was occupied by Minori Conventuali. In an 1843 inventory, the main altarpiece depicted a ''Stigmata of St Frances of Assisi'' by Giovanni de' Vecchi. The church also had a ''Dispute in the Temple'' by Domenico Passignano, and a ''St Antony of Padua'' by Giovanni Battista Mercati. This church was also for centuries the host of the large Gothic-style Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece (1437-1444) by the Sienese painter

Sassetta ''For the village near Livorno, see Sassetta, Tuscany'' Stefano di Giovanni di Consolo, known as il Sassetta (–1450) was a List of Italian painters, Tuscan painter of the Italian Renaissance painting, Renaissance, and a significant figure of th ...

. The altarpiece consisted of 60 images and would have stacked up to be some 6 by 5 meters in size. Painted in Siena, costing an exorbitant 510 florins (cost of five houses), it was delivered by cart to Sansepolcro, and assembled in place over the tomb of the Blessed Ranieri Rasini in the church. It was dismembered in 1752. With the Napoleonic suppression of monasteries, the panels were sold. About half of the component panels have been identified among many museums and collections.Podere Santa Pia site
, description of saga of Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Sansepolcro Roman Catholic churches in Sansepolcro 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Gothic church buildings in Tuscany