Gerace | Church of St. Francis of Assisi

The church of San Francesco d'Assisi is an ancient place of worship located in the square of the three churches " of the medieval village of Gerace. The monumental church has been declared an architectural asset of national interest and represents an important building in the Gothic style of Calabria. An important example of the mendicant architecture in southern Italy, the church, built between the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century on the remains of a previous Romanesque building, belonged to a monastery complex, of which remain the well and part of the cloister. Access to the interior is through a monumental fourteenth-century portal with decorations of Arab-Norman inspiration. The nave is a large rectangular room covered by a trussed roof, illuminated by a series of single lancet windows. In the quadrangular presbytery, covered by a starry vault with eight sails, is the sarcophagus of Nicola Ruffo di Calabria, dated 1372-1374 and made by Neapolitan workshops active at the Angevin court. Magnificent examples of Calabrian baroque are the triumphal arch and the high altar of the XVII century, with marble inlays, with panels reproducing phytomorphic and zoomorphic elements and landscape elements. The building maintains its original use until 1806, when, with the arrival of the French, the friars left the place bringing with them the vast artistic heritage preserved there. Since 1997 the church, deconsecrated, is used as a multipurpose hall for events of cultural interest.