Convent and Church of St. Francis of Assisi

???????? Founded in 1254 by the Messina noblewomen Violante Palizzi, Eleonora da Procida and Beatrice Belfiore, despite being of considerable size, the church consists of a single rectangular hall, without division into naves, with a basilica plan in the shape of a Latin cross, transept and terminal apses. The roof of the imposing nave, in the spirit of Italian Gothic, is pitched with a structure composed of large exposed wooden trusses, which replace the stone vaults of French Gothic and masterfully emphasize the poor character of Franciscan architecture. It preserves, in addition to the valuable wooden and silver simulacrum of the Immaculate Conception (18th cent.), a tile with the drops of blood of St. Anthony of Padua, who performed the first miracle of his life here in 1221.