Church of San Francesco (Sarnano)

History of the Church of San Francesco

The church dates from the 14th century and is attributed to local builders of the period. It was part of a double monastery: one convent belonged to the Franciscan friars and is now the seat of the Comune (town hall), the other belonged to the Poor Clares and now houses a museum. One study describes it as one of the oldest Franciscan settlements in Le Marche. It later passed to the Order of the Oratorians (Filippini).

The renovation project is attributed to the architect Ignazio Cantalamessa from Ascoli. The interior decorations are attributed to Giuseppe Salvietti.

What to see in the Church of San Francesco

On the outside, the exposed brickwork and the buttresses stand out; they reinforce the wall along the street and the apse wall. The square bell tower stands next to the apse. On the side facing the street, three single-light windows and a side entrance remain, now walled up.

The interior is marked by a giant order of paired Ionic columns supporting a continuous cornice. The organ occupies the inner facade wall, and the hall is covered by a barrel vault in reed and plaster (camorcanna). The church also holds a Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross) of fourteen small canvases, attributed to the painter Cristoforo Unterperger (1732-1798).

How to visit the Church of San Francesco

The church is easy to include in a walk around the historic center. It lies on the route that climbs from Porta Brunforte toward Piazza Alta. It is worth checking in advance whether it is open. Next door, in the Palazzo Comunale, is a library that holds rare books and manuscripts.

Where the Church of San Francesco is located

The church is in the historic center of Sarnano, in the province of Macerata. The town stands on a hill at the foot of the Sibillini Mountains. The church is in the lower part of the historic center, near Porta Brunforte, while the oldest buildings are clustered higher up, around Piazza Alta. To get there, walk past the Chiesa di Santa Chiara: a few dozen meters farther on are San Francesco and the Palazzo Comunale.

Around the Church of San Francesco in Sarnano

Climbing up, the route reaches Piazza Alta, surrounded by the Chiesa di Santa Maria di Piazza and the Palazzo dei Priori, Palazzo del Popolo and Palazzo del Podestà. Since June 2023 the square has been home to a bronze sculpture group that tells the legend of the Seraph of St. Francis. The seraph appears in the town's coat of arms. The Pinacoteca (art gallery) and the Musei Civici (civic museums) can also be visited in town. Other churches in the area are on the page churches of the Sibillini Mountains.