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St Francis New Church in Bagnoregio: The Church Arising out of Earthquakes
The Church of San Francesco Nuovo stands on the western hill of Bagnoregio, in the heart of the Tuscia Viterbese region. This 18th-century church was not born out of devotion, but out of necessity. Three earthquakes — in 1695, 1755, and 1759 — forced the Friars Minor to leave their original home, the place now known as Belvedere, and to start over elsewhere.
A Church That Took 38 Years to Complete
Construction began in 1765, based on a design by architect Francesco Tiroli, in the locality of Calvario. The convent was ready in 1774, but the church only opened for worship in 1803, and was consecrated in 1852.
The plan is an inverted Latin cross — an unusual choice, linked to the fact that originally the road ran behind the building and not in front of it, as it does today.
What to See Inside
The single nave is flanked by six side chapels. On the right, there is an altarpiece of the Blessed Andrew, an altarpiece of Christ on the Cross, and a statue of St Anthony of Padua. On the left, a plaster simulacrum of St Francis, an altarpiece with the Virgin Immaculate, and an altarpiece with Saint Joseph of Cupertino. In the presbytery, the high altar in polychrome marble is noteworthy, and behind the choir is an altarpiece depicting the miracle of the healing of St Bonaventure.
To the left of the presbytery, there is also a chapel dedicated to St Bonaventure, built in 1847 with stones recovered from his birthplace in Civita.
