Chiesa di San Francesco
Step through the frescoed lunette portal on Piazza San Francesco and the temperature drops a degree or two — brick walls, a single nave, a wooden roof overhead. The church is spare in the Franciscan way, which makes the large painted crucifix above the altar land all the harder. Scholars still argue over who made it around 1289 — Duccio di Boninsegna, Guido di Graziano, or the Maestro di Badia a Isola — but the uncertainty doesn't diminish it.
The cloister behind the church is the quieter reward. Octagonal columns carry brick arches around a 16th-century well, the Pozzo della Bufala, its stone crown balanced between two travertine columns. Traces of 13th-century fresco cling to the walls.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to time it for late afternoon, when the light works through the cloister arches at a low angle. The Chapel of Sant'Antonio, frescoed by the Nasini brothers in the second half of the 1600s, is easy to overlook on the way to the crucifix — worth slowing down for.
The story behind Chiesa di San Francesco
The site began as a Benedictine house dedicated to San Fortunato. By 1233 a document records the 'contrada fratrum minorum' — the street of the minor friars — and the Franciscans had taken over. The church was rebuilt in 1231 and consecrated in 1289, the same year its disputed painted crucifix was made.
Centuries of incremental change followed: a Baroque chapel added in the 17th century, granaries built along the left flank under the Lorena in the 18th, and a bell tower rebuilt by architect Lorenzo Porciatti in 1926 after lightning brought down its predecessor. The church was returned to the Franciscans by Bishop Gustavo Matteoni in 1924, and formally erected as a parish in 1949.
Good to know
Admission is free. Hours are variable and shift seasonally, so check before you go — the church isn't always open outside Mass times (7:30 a.m. and early evening). The piazza sits inside the Medicean walls, a short walk from the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo.
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What travellers say about Chiesa di San Francesco
Ancient little jewel hidden behind a quiet park. Check out the 13th century wooden crucifix.
Superb
Always perfect
The Church of San Francesco is located in the historic center of Grosseto and dates back to the 13th century. The building reflects various renovations and, above all, the typical Franciscan simplicity. While the exterior is simple, the single-nave interior is rich in works of art. Of particular note are a wooden crucifix attributed to Duccio di Buoninsegna and numerous frescoes by the Nasini family. On the left side of the church, the cloister is worth seeing, containing a 16th-century well and a bronze statue of Saint Francis.
The church has simple forms, but inside it houses a valuable Crucifix, attributed to Duccio di Boninsegna, and a beautiful frescoed chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony.
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