San Francesco, Terni, Gothic and Renaissance church building in Terni, Italy

San Francesco is a church in Terni featuring Gothic and Renaissance design with a single nave and transept as its main structure. A bell tower rises beside it, decorated with colored majolica tiles in green and blue.

The present church was built between 1265 and 1288 on land where, by tradition, Francis of Assisi stayed after preaching in Terni in 1218. Two friars of the first generation, Simone Camporeali and Pietro Cesi, were buried under the main altar around 1270. The bell tower was added in 1445 by Antonio da Orvieto, and the building was damaged by Allied bombing in World War II.

The Paradisi chapel was frescoed by Bartolomeo di Tommaso of Foligno with a Last Judgement showing Paradise, Hell and the seven deadly sins, inspired by the preaching of San Giacomo della Marca. The church also holds an Adoration of the Magi altarpiece by Cesare Sermei and, in the Cappella della Croce Santa, a 1575 Story of the True Cross by Sebastiano Flori, a pupil of Vasari.

The church sits in the central San Francesco square and is easy to reach on foot from the main parts of town. It serves as a key waypoint on the Via di Francesco pilgrimage route, so you may see walkers passing through.

The bell tower displays an uncommon blend of structural design with colorful majolica tiles that cover much of its surface. This combination of practical construction and decorative elements was not typical for towers of that period.