Chiesa dell'Osservanza, Gothic church in Cesena, Italy

The chiesa dell'Osservanza in Cesena has an unfinished neoclassical facade of bare brick with a semicircular window and a three-arch portico; the left arch holds a statue of Saint Francis and the right a statue of Blessed Ruffino, both by Calligari. Inside is a single nave with three side chapels per side, false coffers on the vault and a painted dome showing the Eternal Father sending the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin.

Construction was ordered in 1438 after a military victory and was finally completed and consecrated in 1471. The lengthy building process reflects the importance this project held for the city.

The church was granted in 1457 to the Riformati Friars of the Observance, who moved here from Sant'Agostino; the adjacent convent cloister was designed by Pietro Carlo Borboni. In 1465 Cardinal Bessarion donated his collection of choral books, some later transferred to the Biblioteca Malatestiana. The parish is dedicated to the Madonna delle Grazie, crowned in 1885, as recalled by the 1956 De Poli bell.

Visiting is straightforward since the church is located on a well-known street and is clearly visible. It is advisable to come in the morning or early afternoon when the interior spaces have better light and fewer people are present.

The four bells in the campanile have documented founders: the first, third and fourth were cast by Cesare Brighenti of Bologna in 1885, while the second came from the De Poli foundry in 1956, made to mark 75 years since the crowning of the Madonna delle Grazie, patron of the Osservanza parish.