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Church of St Francis in Fondi: from medieval convent to film set
The Church of St Francis is located in Piazza IV Novembre, in Fondi. It was founded around 1363 at the behest of Onorato I Caetani on the site of an earlier Franciscan settlement. Today, it is home to a religious community that oversees the structure, which has been a parish church since 1968.
A history of openings and closings
Onorato II Caetani restored the church and chose it as his final resting place — as the inscription on the portal recalls. From 1466, it passed to the Friars Minor Observant of the province of Naples. The history is one of opening and closing: it was closed during the French Occupation, reopened in 1843, closed again in 1866, reopened in 1881, but only briefly. During the Second World War it was severely damaged.
The set you wouldn't expect
In 1960, while the church was still closed to worshippers, film director Vittorio De Sica shot the rape scene from "Two Women" (La Ciociara) there, with Sophia Loren playing the lead role.
What you can see today
The Church of St Francis has two Gothic naves with Romanesque influences, preceded by a portico with both pointed and round arches. In the dividing wall, a Roman bas-relief depicts the coniunctio dextrarum — the joining of hands, the gesture of Roman marriage. The choir has 13 ogival stalls. The stained-glass windows depicting the life of St Francis are the work of Father Giorgio Ascione. The convent, restored in 1946, is built around a bright cloister with cross vaults and octagonal pillars in peperino stone, crowned by palm-leaf capitals.
