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Church and Former Convent of St Francis in Sermoneta: Frescoes and a Holm Oak from 1495
The church and former convent of San Francesco are located just outside Sermoneta, along the scenic Via San Francesco. The complex was originally built in 1162 as a Templar fortress. It then passed through the hands of four different religious orders. Inside, there are several frescoes and a Last Supper by Pomarancio. Outside, a monumental holm oak planted in 1495 is still standing.
A fortress passed from hand to hand
In 1162, the Knights Templar built a fortress here. They stayed for 150 years. After some time, the Franciscan Fraticelli arrived, and remained until 1420. In 1495, Pope Alexander VI summoned the Observant Friars Minor. From 1565, the Reformed friars known as Zoccolanti took over, and stayed until 1873.
A single nave, chapels, and a painted cloister
The church and convent share the same entrance portico. The single nave has a very high cross vault and three chapels on the right side: the first two frescoed, the third converted into the Sacrario dei Caduti dell'Egeo (Shrine of the Aegean Fallen), a memorial for the 15,000 victims of war in 1943. The quadrangular cloister is covered by cross vaults. The 28 lunettes in the cloister bays depict the life of St Francis of Assisi. At the centre of the courtyard is an elegant well. In the ground-floor refectory is a large fresco of the Last Supper (1576–1586), commissioned by Cardinal Enrico Caetani from the painter Antonio Circignani, known as Pomarancio.
