San Francesco church

It is among the oldest buildings in Potenza Picena. Its origins date back to around 1222, the year in which the Saint of Assisi arrived with a group of friars in Monte Santo.

Tradition has it that some inhabitants donated a few small houses to Francis, which thus became the first nucleus of the monastery. The current configuration was given to the church between 1766 and 1778, a period in which it underwent extensive renovation work: the exterior and the bell tower were built based on a design by the architect Pietro Augustoni; it is uncertain whether the interior, embellished by four elegant statues depicting the cardinal virtues, is also attributable to the latter. The confessionals and the carved choir are instead the work of the cabinetmaker Moschetti; the eighteenth-century paintings on the side altars depict a Miracle of St. Joseph of Cupertino, The Nativity, and The Transition of St. Andrew of Avellino. The two painted canvases, on the sides of the high altar painting, instead recall moments of the approval of the Franciscan rule. The high altar houses the painting of St. Nicholas, while the wall of the stairs leading to the choir loft still preserves remains of 14th-century frescoes. Today the church is state-owned property; however, what remains of the convent—much of which was demolished in the second half of the 19th century—belongs to the Municipality and now houses the Historical Archive, the Library, and the Civic Art Gallery.