San Francesco di Paola, Religious church in Cosenza, Italy.

San Francesco di Paola is a church building in Cosenza with a single nave and lateral chapels covered by small vaults. The walls are built from solid stone masonry throughout, creating a sturdy and lasting structure.

San Francesco di Paola founded the church in 1444 and made it his habitual residence. Tradition holds that he lived in the cave behind the building, known as the "grotta del santo", where a wooden cross he placed is kept. It is regarded as the second most important sanctuary dedicated to the saint.

The church is held to be the second most important sanctuary dedicated to Saint Francis of Paola, who made it his habitual residence. On the vault are pastels showing scenes from his life, and the wooden cross he is said to have placed in the cave behind the building is kept there.

The church stands at 245 metres above sea level at largo Paolina Gervasi Mantovani 1, on the final stretch of corso Plebiscito. The Gothic portal is the main entrance; inside, the single nave keeps the tomb of Ottavio Cesare Gaeta on one side and the two 18th-century paintings on the right wall. Look for the wooden choir behind the altar and the fresco remnants on the sacristy wall.

Behind the church lies a cave connected to Saint Francis of Paola, the patron figure after whom the building is named. Inside this cave sits a wooden cross that Saint Francis himself is said to have placed there.