Santi Francesco e Chiara, Renaissance church in Florence, Italy
Santi Francesco e Chiara is the church of the Capuchin convent of Montughi, at via dei Cappuccini 1, on the Poggetto hill. Consecrated in 1623 and reworked at the end of the 18th century by Giuseppe Manetti, it has a single vaulted hall with side chapels and a barrel vault. The altars hold works by Lorenzo Lippi, the Empoli and Giovan Battista Vanni.
The convent was founded in 1359 by the Umiliati and was partly demolished during the siege of Florence in 1529. After the Umiliati were suppressed, Cosimo I enlarged the rebuilt complex in 1572 and assigned it to the Capuchins. The present church was consecrated in 1623, remodelled at the end of the 18th century by Giuseppe Manetti, and erected as a parish on 19 February 1969 under the title of Saints Francis and Clare.
The parish, dedicated to Saints Francis and Clare, was created on 19 February 1969 from territory of Santo Stefano in Pane and the Immacolata Concezione, and counted about 5,600 people at the 2021 census. Its priests have included Stanislao Livi (1969–1992) and Giovanni Roncari (1992–2012). In the convent complex stands the Cenacolo del Terz'Ordine Francescano, a neo-medieval building of 1924–1926 that once housed a museum of Indian missions.
The church stands at via dei Cappuccini 1, on the Montughi hill north of the historic centre, not in central Florence; it is reached by bus or a uphill walk from the city. It is part of the Capuchin convent, which also houses the Museo dei Cappuccini and a herb shop open to the public. Visitors should avoid mass times.
The wooden crucifix on the main altar, called degli Umiliati, is a 15th-century piece; until the mid-1950s four wooden figures of the Dolenti, attributed to Cigoli's circle, surrounded it. They now stand in the friars' choir behind the altar, together with Cigoli's Annunciation of 1595 and Ligozzi's Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena.
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