Church of S. Francesco
The church of S. Francesco dates back to 1405 and was built in proximity to the Grotto dell'Annunziata (Grotto dedicated to the Madonna of the Annunciation).
It was annexed to the western side of the convent, to the opposite of its present location. In 1435 both the church and thge convent were destroyed by the army of Mohammed II, and the church was rebuilt the following year by S. Bernardino di Siena (St. Bernardine of Siena). In 1440 a violent tidal wave again destroyed the church was once again rebuilt in the same place. Construction of the newer, larger church was begun in 1517 and was interrupted during a Turkish invasion of the entire coast in 1558. In 1590 construction of both the church and the convent, in their present location, was completed.
The original sixteenth century style of thge church has been lost. In Fact, in the first half of the eighteenth century, after it had been severely damaged by catastrophic tidal waves in 1631 and 1674, the church underwent a series of transformations which have given the structure its present aspect.
The depiction of the "ascension" found in the first chapel of the right nave is the work of Teodoro d'Errico, a Flemish painter who worked in Campania at the end of the sixteenth century.
Another work of Flemish origin (Antwerp School, beginning of the fifteenth century) of significant historical and artistic value, is the table depicting "La Reposizione nel Sepolcro" (The placement of the body of Christ in the Sepulcher). Also of great artistic value are: "Il Calvario" (Calvary), of the sixteenth century Flemish school; "Il Crocifisso" (The Crucifixion), eighteenth century canvas; and, finally "La presentazione al Tempio" (the Presentation in the Temple), a copy of the Vasari alter-piece.
The gardens of the Franciscan Convent are well worth visiting, as well.
Having lost its renaissance origins, today the church presents an eighteenth century aspect in late rococo style: the present aspect of the church is the result of major renovations in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The Apse is polygonal in form, outlined by rows of square columns which lead scholars to suppose the pre-existence of a Gothic Apse which was modified in the eighteenth century. The main altar, built between 1517 and 1570, shows signs of the continuous adjustments to the various architectural styles in numerous overlapping modifications made through the centuries. The ancient monumental choir loft, built in the sixteenth century, is of particular historical and artistic interest. The Staibano family chapel is at the foot of the main archway and dates back to 1511; to the left is the Mezzacapo family chapel, built in 1530 and dedicated to the Holy Spirit.
