Description of the attraction
The Church of San Francesco in Grosseto was built by the Benedictine monks and was originally dedicated to Saint Fortunato. Later, the church and the adjacent monastery were handed over to the Franciscan order. Saint Francis himself, according to legend, having returned from the East, landed on the coast of the Maremma.
In 1231, the church was restored and ennobled, and in 1289 Nello Pannokchieski worked on its decoration. The building itself has a very simple shape. Its only decorative elements are a cornice running along the perimeter of the roof, arched windows, a round rosette window and an ornamented roof above the main entrance with the image of the Virgin Mary with the Child and saints in a lunette. This image was updated by Casucci, who also built the bell tower, which was restored in 1927. The austere simplicity and lack of San Francesco Gothic decorations reinforce the adobe walls. Only the lower part of the facade is lined with limestone tuff, the rest of the building is built of bricks that have darkened over the centuries.
Inside, the main throne is adorned with a wonderful Crucifixion, the creation of which is attributed to Duccio di Boninsegna. It was probably done in 1289, when the church was reopened to the faithful. The influence of the Cimabue style can be seen in the flowing loincloth of Christ. The chapel on the right, which is not an architectural part of the church, is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua. Its vaults and interior rear wall are painted with 17th century frescoes.
The cloister adjacent to San Francesco has recently been renovated along with the church. The graceful well in its center is known as Pozzo della Bufala - it was built in 1490 by Ferdinando I de Medici. Several gravestones with heraldic symbols and fragments of frescoes can be seen along the walls of the cloister. Next to the cloister is a square with another Renaissance well, built in 1465 by the Sienese.
It was in this church that the famous Italian singer Adriano Celentano was married to Claudia Mori.
