The Church of San Francesco

Among cloisters and mausoleums

When visiting the Church of San Francesco in Castelbuono, you can discover, alongside the place of worship itself, a splendid cloister and the chapel of Saint Anthony of Padua, or the Mausoleum of the Ventimiglia family, who ruled this area of the province of Palermo in the 14th century and ordered the construction of other monuments in the village, including the lavish Palatine Chapel.

The building we see today dates to the 18th century, but its original layout dates to 1332. The church, with a hall and four side altars, houses works of great artistic value, from the fresco of Saint Mary of Byzantium to the 16th-century organ. You can enter the 16th-century cloister for a moment of peace and tranquillity in the open air.

The chapel houses the tombs of members of the Ventimiglia family, including Simone I and Isabella. According to tradition, Saint Anthony of Padua stopped there to pray in 1222 during his journey to the island.