San Francesco, Gothic and Baroque church in Città di Castello, Italy.
San Francesco is a Roman Catholic church in Città di Castello, Umbria. Its plain brick facade fronts a single nave opened by chapels and covered by barrel vaults, with frescoed medallions of Saints Francis, Anthony of Padua and Giuseppe da Copertino by Lucantonio Angiolucci and stucco work by Antonio Milli. The late-Baroque interior dates to the 1707–1727 rebuilding; the apse exterior, right flank and some windows survive from the Gothic church.
The church was originally consecrated in 1291 and received its current Baroque form through extensive reconstruction between 1707 and 1727. This major transformation made it a notable example of Baroque architecture in the region.
The first chapel on the left, the Cappella Vitelli, was designed around 1550 by Giorgio Vasari, who also painted its altarpiece, the Coronation of the Virgin, in 1563. The chapel belongs to the Vitelli family, whose name it carries.
The church remains protected as Italian national heritage and is accessible to visitors. It is wise to check opening times beforehand, as they may vary depending on services and local holidays.
The 14th-century carved altar is attributed to the Franciscan Beato Giacomo, himself a marble sculptor. One right-hand chapel once held Lorenzo Ghiberti's reliquary of the arm of Saint Andrew, now in the city's Pinacoteca Comunale. Luca Signorelli's Adoration of the Shepherds (1496) was also painted for this church and is now at the National Gallery in London.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,632 contributors worldwide.