Church of San Francesco al Prato – Perugia

Description

The Church of San Francesco al Prato, along with the oratory of San Bernardino that faces its left flank, is located in Perugia in piazza San Francesco, at the end of via dei Priori. Founded by the minor Franciscans in the 13^th century to emulate the Upper Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, the church has a single nave ending in a polygonal apse. Built on subsiding land, the church has had numerous structural problems since just a few years after its construction. It was entirely restored in the 18^th century but the heavy weight of the new buttresses accelerated the collapse of the hill instead of supporting the previous Gothic structure. Less than a century later, it was necessary to demolish the dome, the vaults of the nave, transept and part of the apse walls. In 1926 the facade was rebuilt, ending with a tympanum and enclosed between two buttresses, with white and pink geometric cladding and coloured inlays. Currently the church is deconsecrated and roofless and, together with the convent that today accommodates the Academy of Fine Arts of Perugia, it is undergoing consolidation and restoration work that aims at transforming it into an auditorium for the town.

Position on map