Church of Saint Francis the Greater, Gothic church in Padua, Italy

The Church of Saint Francis the Greater is a Gothic building in Padua featuring a large rose window and terracotta ornaments on its facade. The bell tower has double windows and a lead-covered dome.

Construction started in 1416 under master builder Nicholas Gobbo and the building was consecrated in 1430. It was built during a time when Padua was renewing its major churches.

The four main columns are medieval red marble taken from Piazza dei Signori and donated by the city in 1502. The aisle soffits carry late-Gothic frescoes, and a set of eighteenth-century Stations of the Cross hangs in its original frames. The portico outside was painted with the stories of Saint Francis in verdeterra by Francesco Squarcione between 1452 and 1466.

The church stands on Via San Francesco, set between the former convent on the left and the old Hospital of San Francesco on the right, linked by a portico of thirty-seven terracotta arches along the street. The entrance is through three portals on the east facade, the central one Baroque; the side portals open onto the aisles. The bell tower rises beside the left side of the apse.

The name 'Greater' was chosen to distinguish it from the smaller church San Francesco Piccolo, which disappeared in the sixteenth century. This distinction shows how two churches existed side by side before one vanished from the city.