The church of San Francesco is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

-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 in

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History ...

in the

province of Pisa The province of Pisa () is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pisa. With an area of and a total population of 421,642 (), it is the second most populous and fifth largest province of Tuscany. It is subdivided i ...

, region of Tuscany, Italy.

Description

The plain stone church was granted in 1251 for a community of

Franciscan 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 institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friars. The interior has marble monuments to members of the aristocratic family of Counts

Guidi Guidi is an Italian surname shared by several notable people: * Guidi (family), a medieval noble family * Alessandro Pier Guidi (born 1983), racing driver from Italy * Angela Maria Guidi Cingolani (1896–1991), Italian politician * Angelo Guid ...

, who were patrons of the order. The monument to Bishop Jacopo Guidi (1588) was designed by Felice Palma. Above the main altar, now enclosed in a baroque marble frame consisting of clouds, putti, and angels, is an early 14th century painted icon depicting a ''Madonna and Child''. The venerated image of the ''Madonna di San Sebastiano'' was moved here from the no longer extant church of San Sebastiano. Among the paintings in the side altars flanking the nave is a ''Madonna of the Immaculate Conception and Saints with Adam and Eve'' (1585) by Giovanni Battista Naldini, a ''Nativity'' (1591) by

Giovanni Balducci Giovanni Balducci, called Il Cosci after his maternal uncle, (c. 1560 — after 1630) was an Italian mannerist painter. Biography Born in Florence, Balducci was trained by Giovanni Battista Naldini. Under the guidance and supervision of Vasar ...

, a ''Crucifixion'' attributed to

Bartolomeo Neroni Bartolomeo Neroni, also known as Il Riccio or Riccio Sanese (c.1505–1571) was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect and engineer of the Sienese School. He was born and died in Siena. Biography Neroni was influenced by Domenico Beccafumi ...

, and a ''Crucifixion'' (1602) painted by

Cosimo Daddi Cosimo Daddi (before 1575–1630), was a late Renaissance painter active mainly around Volterra and Florence. In 1591–94, he participated in the fresco decoration (the deeds of Godefroy de Bouillon) of the Villa Petraia for the Medici family. ...

. There is an altarpiece depicting the "Miracle of San Francesco di Paola crossing the Straits of Messina on his Mantle" (1711) by

Alessandro Gherardini Alessandro Gherardini (16 November 1655 – 1726) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence. He was the pupil of the painter Alessandro Rosi. In Florence, he painted a ''Crucifixion'' for the Monastery of the ...

. The baptismal font was sculpted by Giovanni Battista Bava in 1552. The sacristy had a painting depicting ''Adoration of the Magi'' by Ignazio Hugford and a ''Nativity'' by Vincenzo Ferretti. Torrini (1832), page 165. Two paintings are no longer in the church: the ''Circumcision of Christ'' (1490-91) by

Luca Signorelli Luca Signorelli ( – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cortona, in Tuscany, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening. His massive frescos of the ''Last Judgment'' (1499–15 ...

and the stunning masterpiece of the ''Deposition'' (1521) by Rosso Fiorentino; the former is in the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, while the latter has been moved to the Pinacoteca Civica of Volterra.

Chapel of the Daily Cross (Cappella della Croce di Giorno)

This

-style chapel was built in 1315 by architect Mone Todirigi for a confraternity (''Compagnia della Croce di Giorno''). It was decorated in 1410 with frescos by

Cenni di Francesco Cenni di Francesco di ser Cenni was an Italian Gothic painter active in Florence between 1369/1370 and 1415. His only signed work is the fresco of the True Cross at the Cappella della Croce di Giorno at the church of San Francesco in Volterra, ...

and Jacopo da Firenze with scenes from the ''Legends of the True Cross''. These frescoes were inspired by those of

Agnolo Gaddi Agnolo Gaddi (c.1350–1396) was an Italian painter. He was born and died in Florence, and was the son of the painter Taddeo Gaddi, who was himself the major pupil of the Florentine master Giotto. Agnolo was a painter and mosaicist, traine ...

in the Santa Croce of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, and the ''Golden Legend of

Jacobus de Voragine Jacobus de Voragine, OP (13/16 July 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of the '' Golden Legend'', a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the mediev ...

''. Volterra san francesco 001.JPG, ''Capella della Croce di Giorno'' Volterra san francesco 006.JPG, ''Frescoes of the Evangelists'' by Jacopo da Firenze

References

*''The information in this article is based on that in its Italian equivalent''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Volterra Gothic church buildings in Tuscany