Church and Convent of San Francesco - Lugnano in Teverina
The church and Convent of St. Francis was built in 1229 where the Saint preached and performed a miracle in 1212.
The church and Convent of St. Francis was built in 1229 where the Saint preached and performed a miracle in 1212. In the church you can admire the fresco recalling the miracle: the Saint sends a duck to release a child who has been attacked by a wolf. This fresco has been recently restored. In restoration work performed in 1600, in line with the changing tastes of that time, the fresco was re-painted using casein tempera, modifying the colours of some components as well as adding a landscape to the background of the painting.
Different tests aiming at removing all the repainted part brought to light an intact fresco executed in the 1300s with the technique of the “good fresco” representing a simplified scene with canons and grotesque-style details. A rare fresco of the Franciscan proto-martyrs is visible within the convent. Here the Blessed Gonella from Norcia died on 22 June 1540. The convent flourished in the 1600s. The elegant cloister decorated with a series of elegant travertine columns and frescoes depicting the life of St. Francis was built in 1608. Today you can still admire the bell tower with Baroque forms dating back to 1680. It was a flourishing religious centre until 1930. In 1988 the roof of the Church was rebuilt by the St. Francis Association; later the granite floor of 1950 was removed allowing the ancient terracotta floor to shine again. A beautiful liturgic altar was built in 2004, in memory of Mario Tessicini, first President of the St. Francis Association and the walnut door of the church was restored. Source: www.turismolugnanointeverina.it