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The St Francis Theatre in Bolsena: a 13th-Century Gothic Church-Turned-Stage
The Teatro Comunale San Francesco occupies the former Chiesa della Natività (Church of the Nativity of the Virgin), in Piazza Matteotti in Bolsena. The single-nave plan with exposed roof trusses and a raised altar area on the north side remains that of a 13th-century Gothic church, but today it hosts performances, concerts and conferences. The church was converted into a theatre in the 20th century, but its medieval structure remains clearly visible.
From Monaldeschi church to the municipal theatre
Construction began in the early 13th century, commissioned by the Monaldeschi della Cervara family, and dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin. It was subsequently entrusted to the Frati Minori Conventuali (Conventual Franciscan Friars), and the name "San Francesco" took hold with the arrival of the Franciscans. Over the centuries the church changed guise many times: in the 18th century the Gothic layout vanished beneath stuccoes and Baroque interventions. It took a post-war restoration to uncover what lay beneath: the splayed portal, the rose window, and the bare nave with its original proportions. On the left wall, the Monaldeschi della Cervara tomb remains.
The surviving frescoes
The presbytery area still contains remnants of frescoes attributed to Giovan Francesco d'Avanzarano, known as "Il Fantastico", a Viterbo painter active between the late 15th and early 16th centuries. On the nave walls other paintings are visible, including a 16th-century Crucifixion with two saints, close to the exit, and a fresco of Saint Anthony with scenes of his miracles.
