San Francesco Church, Gothic basilica in Piazza Cavalli, Piacenza, Italy
San Francesco Church is a Gothic basilica from the 13th century located on the edge of Piazza Cavalli in the heart of Piacenza. The brick facade features a central rose window, several round openings, and buttresses topped with pointed pinnacles that draw the eye upward.
The basilica was founded in 1278 under the patronage of the Ghibelline lord Umbertino Landi and quickly became a center of Franciscan monastic life. Over the centuries it also hosted important public announcements, reflecting the close ties between the church and the city's political life.
The church takes its name from Saint Francis of Assisi and faces Piazza Cavalli, the main square of Piacenza. Visitors walking inside today can see fragments of old frescoes on the walls, left over from centuries of religious use.
The church sits right on Piazza Cavalli and is easy to reach on foot from anywhere in the center of Piacenza. A visit works well both during the day to see the interior and in the evening when the facade is well lit.
The interior layout was modeled on the Basilica of San Francesco in Bologna, with an apse and radiating chapels, an arrangement rarely found in Piacenza. The entrance is marked by a marble Romanesque arch portal whose carved details are easy to miss at first glance.
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