Basilica of Saint Francis | |
---|---|
Basilica di San Francesco | |
Location | Piazza Malpighi, 9 40123 Bologna |
Country | Italy |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
History | |
Consecrated | 1251 |
Associated people | Friars Giambattista Martini, O.F.M. Conv., & Stanislao Mattei, O.F.M. Conv. |
Architecture | |
Architectural type | Romanesque (facade); French Gothic architecture (interior) |
Groundbreaking | 1236 |
Completed | 1263 |
Administration | |
Archdiocese | Bologna |
The Basilica of Saint Francis (Italian : Basilica di San Francesco) is a historic church in the city of Bologna in northern Italy. Founded in the 13th century, it has been the property of the Conventual Franciscan friars since then. The church has been raised to the rank of a minor basilica by the Holy See.
The Franciscans had occupied a modest house in the city called Santa Maria delle Pugliole, founded in 1211 by Bernard of Quintavalle, one of the first members of the Order. Their noted founder, St. Francis of Assisi, visited the city in 1222 to preach to the people of the city, which sparked a great interest in the Order he had founded. At the urging of Pope Gregory IX, the authorities of the medieval commune gave the property on which the basilica is now built to the friars in 1236 for a church of their own. It was located in the area of the city known as civitas antiqua rupta (the old city ruins), where the remains of the Roman city of Bononia were located.
Construction was begun and sufficiently complete by 1251 that it was consecrated by Pope Innocent IV. The main structure was finally completed in 1263. [1]
During the 18th century, the friary was a center of musical performance and study. A renowned girls choir sang at the services of the church, which was directed by Friar Giambattista Martini, O.F.M. Conv., a noted composer. Among his many students was another friar of the community, Stanislao Mattei, O.F.M. Conv. [2]
During the occupation of Italy by the French Revolutionary Army, in 1796 the church was desecrated and the friary was seized and used as a barracks by the occupying forces. The artworks of the church were seized and scattered. The church was restored to religious use in 1842, but was later seized again in the course of the Second Italian War of Independence and used as a military storehouse. It was finally returned to the Franciscans in 1886. The restoration of the church to its original aspect was carried out under the supervision of Alfonso Rubbiani, an expert in restoration, and were completed in 1919. [1]
The architect is not known. Early sources gave Friar Mateo of Brescia as having designed the church. This seems to have been a confusion with Giovanni of Brescia, a leading architect of the period. The 14th-century chronicler of the friary, Bartolomeo of Pugliole, recorded that, when the vault of the apse collapsed in 1254, the restoration work was supervised by one Friar Andrea Maestro della Ghiexia, who is described as "of the twisted legs". [1]
Despite its Romanesque facade, it is one of the best examples of French Gothic architecture in Italy. This is manifest in the interior, which has a nave and two aisles, in the apse with corridor, in the high vaults divided into six sections (like in Notre-Dame de Paris) with ogival arches, and in the use of buttresses.
The church is home to the church monuments of the jurist Accursius and his son Francesco, Odofredus and Rolandino dei Romanzi.
The Franciscans are a group of related mendicant religious orders of the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi, these orders include three independent orders for men, orders for nuns such as the Order of Saint Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis open to male and female members. They adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of the founder and of his main associates and followers, such as Clare of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and Elizabeth of Hungary. Several smaller Protestant Franciscan orders or other groups have been established since late 1800s as well, particularly in the Anglican and Lutheran traditions.
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Giovanni Battista or Giambattista Martini, O.F.M. Conv., also known as Padre Martini, was an Italian Conventual Franciscan friar, who was a leading musician, composer, and music historian of the period and a mentor to Mozart.
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The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in central Italy, where Saint Francis was born and died. It is a papal minor basilica and one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. With its accompanying friary, Sacro Convento, the basilica is a distinctive landmark to those approaching Assisi. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
The Order of Friars Minor Conventual is a male religious fraternity in the Catholic Church and a branch of the Franciscan Order. Conventual Franciscan Friars are identified by the affix O.F.M. Conv. after their names. They are also known as Conventual Franciscans or Minorites.
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Antonio Francesco Orioli O.F.M.Conv. was a cardinal of the Catholic Church.
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Italian Gothic architecture (also called temperate Gothic architecture, has characteristics that distinguish it considerably from those of the place of origin of Gothic architecture, France, and from other European countries in which this language has spread.
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Stanislao Mattei, O.F.M. Conv., was an Italian Conventual Franciscan friar who was a noted composer, musicologist, and music teacher of his era.
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The Basilica of St Francis is a parish church and minor basilica located on Piazza San Francesco #6 in Viterbo, region of Lazio, Italy. The museological management of the church is run by the Polo Museale del Lazio. The church is just northeast of the Piazza della Rocca Albornoz, just diagonally behind the Palazzo Grandori, at the northern edge of historic Viterbo.
The church dedicated to saint Francis of Assisi, known for centuries as San Francesco Grande is a religious building on the Via San Francesco, previously overlooks the Contra porteghi high in Padua, Italy. Through the efforts of Baldo de Bonafarii and Sibilla de Cetto, the convent of the Friars Minor and the Hospital of Saint Francis, Major, operated until 1798.
The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is a Gothic-style, Roman Catholic church of Palermo. It is located near a major and ancient street of the city, via Cassaro, in the quarter of the Kalsa, within the historic centre of Palermo. The building represents the main Conventual Franciscan church of Sicily, and has the title of minor basilica.
The Convent of Saint Francis is a Franciscan convent located in the western, historic center of Fiesole in the region of Tuscany, Italy.
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The church of San Francesco is a church located in Mirandola, in the province of Modena, Italy.