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Church of St Francis in Sora: the façade that hides a vault painted by the Biancale brothers
The Church of San Francesco is located in Piazza San Francesco in Sora, in the Liri Valley in Ciociaria. From the outside, nothing out of the ordinary: the façade is so plain that it blends in with the other buildings in the small square. That is exactly the point — as soon as you step inside, everything changes.
A church born from the Saint's passage
The construction dates back to shortly after 1305. The exact founding date is unknown, but tradition links it to St Francis's passage through the Liri Valley in the 13th century.
The vault by the Biancale brothers and the seven statues
The interior has a single nave, and the barrel vault is decorated by the Biancale brothers. Along the walls, large niches house seven plaster statues depicting biblical figures: David he of Goliath fame — and six Prophets: Solomon, Moses, Aaron, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Isaiah. Recent restoration work has uncovered 15th-century frescoes on the left side of the nave, which had been hidden for centuries.
The Gothic mullioned window and the Feast of St Anthony
At the rear of the church is a Gothic mullioned window in travertine, one of the rare medieval elements to have survived intact in the town. Every June 13th, the feast of Saint Anthony of Padua, a procession departs from the churchyard, and blessed loaves of bread are handed out.
