Chiesa di San Francesco - Loro Piceno 01

San Francesco is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-style

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located in the town of

Loro Piceno Loro Piceno is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about south of Ancona and about south of Macerata on a hill near the Fiastra Fiastra is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of M ...

, province of Macerata, in the region of

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

, Italy.

History

The

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

arrived to Loro Piceno by 1362, and likely soon after founded a monastery and adjacent church. The latter was consecrated in 1372. The monastery was suppressed only by the Napoleonic invasion, and even afterward some five monks returned after the complex was reassigned to the order after the restoration of Papal government. By then much of the convent became used for other activities including a school. The sacristy had been used in the 18th century as a town archive. Between the seventeenth and nineteenth century, the total number altars inside the church was reduced to five. In 1793, the wooden choir stalls were moved. The conterfacade held an organ built by

Gaetano Callido Gaetano (anglicized ''Cajetan'') is an Italian masculine given name. It is also used as a surname. It is derived from the Latin ''Caietanus'', meaning "from ''Caieta''" (the modern Gaeta). The given name has been in use in Italy since medieval per ...

. The front of the nave once had wooden benches reserved for the nobility of the town; these were moved to the council chamber. Also lost from the church is a 19th-century silver bas-relief designed by sculptor

Luigi Fontana Luigi Fontana (9 February 1827 – 27 December 1908) was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect. Biography He was born at Monte San Pietrangeli in the Marche. He first began training between 1838 and 1841 at Macerata under Gaetano Ferri; the ...

of Montesampietrangeli; the bas relief had been made as a votive offering to the Virgin for an event, interpreted as miraculous, occurring in October 1858, when during the recitation of the Rosary, lightning struck the church, but left all the parishioners inside unharmed. In 1828 Luigi Silvestri built the chapel of the Santissimo Crocifisso, to display a copy of the Crucifix of

Lanciano Lanciano (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It has 33,944 inhabitants as of 2023. The town is known for the first recorded Catholic Church, Catholic Miracle of Lanciano, Eucharis ...

. The church underwent a major restoration in 1956–1958. The church still maintains rich collections of paintings. In houses on one of the altars a wooden Madonna of the Rosary (1680), attributed to Sebastiano Sebastiani. In the lateral altars are paintings depicting: *''The Apparition of the Virgin to the Blessed Liberato during his illness'' *''The Temptation of St Anthony Abott'' *''St. Anthony of Padua'' (1771) by Filippo de Conti *''The Ecstasy of St

Joseph of Cupertino Joseph of Cupertino (Copertino), OFM Conv. (; 17 June 1603 – 18 September 1663) was an Italian Conventual Franciscan friar who is honored as a Christian mystic and saint. According to traditional Franciscan accounts, he was "remarkably uncle ...

'' *''A Madonna of Loreto'' *''The Blessed Liberato praying with his companions Umile and Pacifico'' (1924) derived from the Gabinetto del Sindaco nel Palazzo Municipale. The main altarpiece depicts a ''Madonna del Rosario'' (Madonna of the Rosary), painted in 1581–1590, and attributed to

Giuseppe Bastiani Giuseppe Bastiani (active in 1594) was an Italian painter active in the Renaissance period, mainly in his hometown of Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche reg ...

of Macerata, who often painted mannerist, provincial devotional subjects, and a pupil of

Gaspare Gasparini Gaspare Gasparini (died 30 September 1590) was a native of Macerata. He was a disciple of Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta, whose style he followed, though in a less finished manner; as appears in his two pictures in the church of San Venanzio at ...

and follower of the Zuccari. The work was commissioned by the Confraternity of the Rosary, founded in 1573, and officiating at an altar in this church. The painting has a complex iconography: it contains a central scene and is garlanded around the frame with fifteen scenes representing the ''

Mysteries of the Rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

''. The central scene depicts and enthroned Madonna and child Jesus with angels: nearest to them, the Madonna passes St Dominic the rosary, while the Child Jesus gives St Francis a red cross. These two saints are flanked in the central panel includes the next most prominent Dominican and Franciscan male and female saints: respectively, standing, St Peter Martyr and

St Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua, OFM, (; ; ) or Anthony of Lisbon (; ; ; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor. Anthony was born and raised by a wealthy ...

; and kneeling,

St Catherine of Siena Caterina di Jacopo di Benincasa (25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), known as Catherine of Siena, was an Italian mystic and pious laywoman who engaged in papal and Italian politics through extensive letter-writing and advocacy. Canonized in 1461, ...

and St Clare of Assisi. The canvas is also crowded below with both religious and secular leaders showing devotion to the institutions of the rosary and cross. Some identify among them

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

, a former Dominican friar; Cardinal

Carlo Bonelli Carlo Bonelli (1612–1676) was an Italian lawyer and diplomat who was appointed a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in 1664. Life Carlo Bonelli dei marchesi di Cassano was born in 1612, the great-great-grand-ne ...

, Pius' nephew;

John of Austria John of Austria (, ; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V recognized him in a codicil to his will. John became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Phi ...

, the Spanish admiral for King

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

. All were leaders in forming coalition that checked the Ottoman navy in the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

. Pope Pius V had called for prayers of the Rosary prior to the battle, and afterward declared the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is on October 7, would be held on the anniversary of the 1571 battle. The fifteen scenes are represented by the five Joyful (gaudiosi), five Sorrowful (dolorosi), and five Glorious (gloriosi) Mysteries.Comune of Loro Piceno
entry on church by Chiara Negromanti Tini.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Loro Piceno 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Buildings and structures completed in 1372 Churches completed in the 1370s Gothic architecture in le Marche

Loro Piceno