HOLY SITES
Church of San Francesco
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Church of San Francesco
On the corner of Via Savonarola and Via Terranuova, just a few minutes from the Schifanoia Museum and the Casa Romei Museum, you will find a large lawn at the end of which towers the splendid facade of the ancient Basilica of St. Francis. Built by the Franciscans when the order's founding saint was still alive, over the years it enjoyed generous donations from the city’s wealthy families.
Historical Notes
Founded by Franciscan monks around the 13th century, the church of St. Francis became as you can see now in 1494, designed by the celebrated architect Biagio Rossetti, creator of the innovative and revolutionary urban expansion project known as Addizione Erculea, which earned Ferrara recognition on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Before Rossetti's intervention, the building had been used as the mausoleum of the Este family, who disposed of it in the mid-15th century, after building the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, later destroyed by fire in the early 19th century, for that purpose.
The Basilica of St. Francis is undoubtedly one of the most successful works of Biagio Rossetti, who was inspired by Leon Battista Alberti in the creation of the typically Renaissance facade. Consecrated in 1594, it has a Latin cross plan, with three naves and eight chapels on each side. Inside you will find some notable works, such as the splendid fresco The Capture of Christ (1524) painted by Garofalo and the rich Baroque mausoleum of Marquis Ghiron Francesco Villa, the only one of its kind in Ferrara.
You may not know about...
AN INVISIBLE DETAIL. The Basilica of St. Francis holds an invisible detail, not because it is small or hidden, but because you really cannot see it...you can only hear it! What could it possibly be? It is the incredible echo effect inside the church, so famous that it has become the subject of study by many mathematicians from all over Italy. Standing in the centre of the Basilica and clapping your hands loudly produces a perfect and incredibly prolonged echo. Try it to believe it!