Basilica di San Francesco

A fantastic church. We met a lovely holy brother we had a chat with. Nice location, family friend court yard. Best of all, the church also has a market of 2nd hand goods for sale in its area, just to the right of the main entry doors. The money goes into restoring the church. Most items and in great condition and cheap prices.

The Basilica di San Francesco in Bologna stands as a stunning example of early Gothic architecture in Italy, showcasing a unique blend of Romanesque and French Gothic elements. Situated at Piazza Malpighi 9, this historic church has served as an important religious and cultural landmark since the 13th century. Lovely ice cream shop opposite to the square ☺️

Much more than meets the eye! This beautiful Basilica is situated on a street corner and there's a pedestrian path in front, with benches and a small park. The beauty is mostly inside, especially in terms of architecture and art that's on display. Moreover, there's a spectacular altar in the back. The size of the Basilica is impressive but there's even more to it, with a large, beautiful inner garden. During weekends, there's an entire flea market open for anyone inside the interior garden.

This is one of the important historic churches in the city of Bologna that was constructed during the 13th-century. It features and a Romanesque(ish) facade and interior that is considered to be one of the earliest and finest examples of French style Gothic architecture in Northern Italy. The interior holds the tomb of Pope Alessandro V, decorative chapels and a remarkable marble altarpiece that is the work of Venetian sculptors Jacobello and Pier Paolo dalle Masegne (1388-93). Outside the church, behind the apse at Piazza Malpighi you will also find three elevated tombs of the Glossatori that date back to the Medieval period. These are worth viewing as well as part of a visit to Basilica di San francesco.

Why is no one talking about the amazing Gothic Revival chapels, which Wikipedia says were restored/redesigned in the 1880s by Alfonso Rubbiani (my poor quality photos don’t do them justice)

Most interesting as this is first Franciscan church in Bologna and there are 3 tombs in the back suspended as monuments. The first Franciscan conven in Bologn The presence of the Franciscans in Bologna dates back to the beginning of the century and spread rapidly in the city, already famous as if it belonged to the university and in constant economic and demog rise. In 1211, by the will of St. Francis, in fact, the noble da Quintavalle was sent to Bologna, belonging to a rich family of merchants and cars and representative of the municipality of Assisi, who, after having met S. Franc, had renounced to all their possessions to follow "Madonna Poverty". In 121 ri from the city walls, in a place corresponding to the current plazza dei Marti if the first Franciscan settlement in Bologna called Santa María del gliole. The rapid increase in the number of those who joined the Franciscans was favored by the repeated stops that the Saint from Assisi made in Bologna. In fact g 1221 S. Francesco, during the return journey from the East, headed towards Bolo a. And the following year he returned to preach in Piazza Maggiore. Perhaps inspired by the apostolic work carried out by the Dominicans through the sign opened at their convent, the Friars Minor invited St. Anthony of Padua - known for his profound doctrinal knowledge of him - to hold a course of studies in the city or town. In 1223 S. Antonio settled in Bologna and, for a year, held lessons in the wind of S. Maria delle Pugliole. The fame of his doctrine and the effectiveness of his edication attracted numerous scholars, some of whom later held ecclesiastical and monastic positions. With the increase in the number of followers of St. Francis, the Minors expressed their desire to have a larger convent complex closer to the city at their disposal. For this reason, and thanks to the interest of Pope Gregory IX and the trocino of the municipal authorities, in 1236 the construction of a new land church began to be made available to the friars: a large plot located just outside the Stiera gate. While the church was being built, the construction of the conventual rooms (chapter house, dormitories, schools, library) was also started at the same time. In June 1796, the Napoleonic troops forced the friars to abandon their headquarters. The church was used as a customs house and the monuments preserved in it were removed or transported to the Certosa. The paintings, mostly of a high pictorial level, together with the library volumes and archival documents, were transferred elsewhere. From 1886 to 1900 the convent complex and the church were affected by a Considerable restoration work directed by Alfonso Rubbiani (1848-1913), who opted and implemented a restoration of the building in a neo-medieval sense, reconstructing Corative and structural parts and, unfortunately, landing almost all the chapels that opened along the western side of the church . Huge damage also caused the Second World War: in 1943, a bomb hit the upper part of the facade and seriously damaged the left aisle. Till 1949, the church was restored to its original state again.

First visit of the year to this church and after a few years of renovation work, the exterior of the building looks much better than it did. All the scaffolding and construction materials have been removed and the elevated tombs seem to have been cleaned. The interior still has some ongoing work but the church is still and interesting place to visit.

This is just one of the amazing churches in Bologna. The Basilica of Saint Francis was founded in the 13th century and it’s just an amazing structure that is still standing. Construction began in the early 1200s and was completed by 1251 and consecrated by the pope in that year the main structure was finally completed in 1263. in the 18th century it was a center for musical performance and study. In 1796 the church was just created and used as a barracks for the occupying forces during the occupation of the French revolutionary army. Don’t know who the architect is but if you look at the exterior façade it reminds me very much of French Gothic architecture a little bit like what I’ve seen at Notre Dame. It’s just beautiful and I hope you make it one of your stops in Bologna.