SAINT FRANCIS CHURCH

The church of San Francesco, with its tall bell tower characterizes the landscape profile of the hill on which stands the historical center of the village of Camerano.

HISTORICAL ORIGINS

According to legend, it was precisely St. Francis to found this church during his trip to the Orient in 1215. It was also flanked by a convent.

The first documents tell us of the presence of this church already in 1292 and we describe a plaque preserved within it (unfortunately now lost) in which was engraved with the date "1230". This is assumed to be the end date of the original church work.

The church suffered several restoration works including that of 1759, the most important. On this occasion it was called the architect Francesco Ciaraffoni (Fano 1720 - Ancona 1802).
The original church remains today only the stone portal. The church continued to be officiated, but in 1944 it was damaged by the war. The church will be reopened to the public in 1959.
The spire that overhangs the door bell dated 1957 and was added with the help of the Commander Silvio Scandalli, founder of the firm that brought accordions Scandalli Camerano to be famous all over the world.
ART
You enter the church through two flights of stairs, from which you arrive at the old portal. The latter together with the base are the only parts of the original church remained unchanged. They date back to the thirteenth century. The façade is the eighteenth-century, in brick.
The plan of the church is rectangular. The part behind the high altar is elliptical. And 'this one nave. The vault ceilings and inside we find decorations typical of the eighteenth century stucco and columns topped with Corinthian capitals. Along the two side walls, there are four altars and two precious choruses, once headquarters of the organ and choir stalls. The eighteenth-century wooden choir is very valuable and elliptical, located behind the main altar.
The apse is enclosed by a marble balustrade. Beyond it are two little doors that are accessed to the sacristy and the bell tower.
On the floor, redone recently, there are four trap doors can be found in the underground rooms that were used as a cemetery. It is thought that they once were connected to other caves. The TV show "Mystery" in an episode opened one of these trap doors, with the help of a team of speleologists.
The church has undergone several restorations and at the mid '900 the Commander Silvio Scandalli began to implement the spire overlooking the bell tower.
Compared to the inventory of 1912, many objects and vestments of the time they went unfortunately lost!
Among the paintings we find a Nativity attributed to the Flemish painter Ernst van Schayck, who lived some time in the Marches.
The second altar on the right, is the glory of the Virgin Mary in the Trinity with Saints (1628) attributed to the school of Pomarancio.
On the left, instead, there is a Crucifixion by an unknown author, the other painting is signed Francis Fasolilli instead with a representation of the Translation of the Holy House of Loreto.
Behind the altar, there is instead portrait Saint Francis receiving the stigmata with a painting by Marco Vannetti, painter theLoreta student of Maratha.

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