The church of St Francis - Alatri Italy

On the inside of the quarter Le Piagge, between Santa Maria Maggiore square and St Francis, on the homonymous way, we can find the Church of St Francis built by the end of the Thirteenth century. The outside of its Gothic facade has a only gate with a relatively small pointed arch, which is accessible thanks to a staircase. High up, there is an enormous rose window with radial columns that had not been part of the renovation.
The inside composed by an only nave with a raised presbytery has characteristics typical of the Baroque age, deriving from the restructuration made at the start of the Eighteenth century. There are paintings that date back to the Fourteenth and Fifteenth centuries: just up against the gate, there can be admired a Virgin with Saints from the Teacher of Alvito’s school and a St Giovanni Battista by an anonymous artist. Other frescos are located on the wall on the right, a Virgin on the throne with the Child, St Benedetto and St Giovanni Battista, works that date back to the second half of 1400.
Inside the church is conserved, in a shrine, a cloak that probably belonged to St Francis of Assisi. According to tradition, it was donated by the saint itself in 1222 to the brothers of the monastery who disappeared in the Thirteenth century.